Just for the record I have only ever purchased 1 bootleg,and I didn't realize it was a bootleg until i received the product,and like i said earlier i bought the legit versions after that to support the copmpany who officially released the product.

I can see your point about distribution cost being high,but i don't believe for a second that they are so high that they should put 3 or less episodes per disc in an effort to stretch the series over more dvd's to squeeze more money out of us.

Because I say they deserve to be bootlegged doesn't mean i would do it.I can easily afford any dvd set no matter what the price,but they will never get my money if they sell something so rediculously overpriced.

As a comparison:
Futurama season box containing approximately 19 episodes:$40
Transformers season box containing 25 episodes:$50
Hellsing box containing 13 episodes:$106

I don't care what anyone says,that is rediculous.

Each session is available for less than 15 bucks from sellers on Half.com
I agree, why would the legit publishers have any motivation to lower their prices to fight bootleggers? The bootlegger can always go lower. And the more pirate copies are bought, the higher the legit companies have to price their stuff to recoup their costs [licensing, voice acting, translating, etc.] All that detail stuff that the pirates don't have to worry about.
If it's too much, save your money, trade for it, rent from netflix, buy used, whatever.
I remember buying VHS anime, 2 eps to a tape, having to decide between sub and dub, and paying 30 bucks and gladly doing it. Now most of them have dub/sub on the same disk, so you actually get two versions for the price of one! What a deal!
Do I wish anime was cheaper? Sure.
Do I wish eating out, food, house payments, car payments, were cheaper? Sure.
Do I pay the prices listed to buy honest goods, and support the people doing the work? Yep.
I might still try to hunt down a deal to get the price more into my range, but if it's not, I don't buy it, I don't steal it.
And not to bring politics into this, but if you buy bootlegs, you are helping America lose jobs.

X-files: over a hundred dollars a season. Ripoff.
Twilight zone: right at a hundred bucks a season. Screw.
Star Trek: over a hundred dollars a season. Crooks.
Brazil Criterion Collection: 55 bucks. For ONE MOVIE! Give me a break.
Lexus LS: Starting at 55k. No WAY!

Oh, and Bill Gates and Michael Jordan make too much money, we need to steal from them.

And if someone's charging 'too much' [which is obviously an opinion], that is *exactly* what should happen--people won't buy it. If enough people don't buy it, they will either lower prices or quit selling the product. But that is using your legimitate power as a consumer, which I wholeheartedly approve.

My computer is messed up, I called Gateway for a repair quote. Minimum 99.00 'labor' just to look at it, so my repair job will probably be at least 250 [based on the problem]. I can get a brand new, decent Dell through work for 400 bucks. I'm voting with my dollars. That's the way it's supposed to work.

That is exactly what i choose to do as well.

I woulnd't compare X-files,Star Trek,etc. as they are not 22 minute animated episodes.

For all you guys who think anime is a ripoff, go to www.rightstuf.com and sign up for their weekly specials newsletter. You can find some amazing deals like Gasaraki perfect collection (8 discs, retailed at $109.98, for $34.99... I paid $29.99 when they had a sale on it a while back. They also have the Sailor Moon TV seasons 1 and 2 for 49.99 (retailed at 149.99.)

It doesn't seem like you understand that the cost factor is more then just a High Distribution fee. it's also the work that is done here on voice work, translating it (trust me, there is some really awful translated bootlegs out there if they use Anime Junkies fansubs.) The matter that this is such a small market so you have fewer units ordered which always keeps a higher price.

Like DT mentioned the old days when you had to choose dub or sub and you only got 2 episodes per VHS. I recall those days and I had no problem paying that price because of those factors. It was even hard to find the choices. You would have to go to suncoast in order to even be able to have the choice of sub for 29.99. No commentaries, no extra's at all. Just two straight episodes in one choice of language or the other.

You bring up X-files, Star Trek, etc. Those are put on dvd by the same folks who created them. The cost is greatly different and the market is wider. X-files, you can understand a higher price because you realize that the actors have a cut of the profit there. I said it before and I'll say it again, Hellsing and other anime titles have a very small market to fill. Unlike X-files and other tv shows, anime doesn't get much air time at all for a person to preview it. So the exposure that someone has to a series before it hits the streets on dvd is very limited.

I understand why the cost is so much to distribute here and if bootleggers are just going to under cut them then it would be even harder and a longer wait before prices come down. Considering the old prices, I would say that they have indeed changed the price and method that they sell dvd's since the ol' days.

If you don't want to pay those prices dont. But in that same tolken, don't expect to own the series either by buying bootlegs and making the situation worse. Don't support bootleggers. You want to preview a series to get the feel if you want to own it or not? Rent it or do what I do. watch the fan subs in advance before a distribution company even has the chance to buy it. 100% of all the anime I own I watched on fan subbed digital format. Is this stealing from the distributors? No. generally fan subbing isn't really looked down upon unless you are doing it after the distributor gets the rights to it and releases it.

It's a great way to preview series. I can't wait till apirl for Azumanga to be released. Saw the entire series without paying one single bootlegger and I want to buy it in support of it. Why? because by supporting it shows that I like the show and would gladly pay for future shows like it to get licensed. Not only that but if the popularity gets high enough, products and merchindise of that series will be imported over at a lower price.

Want cheap anime? Like anything else, you have to look around. I can get X-files season sets for 50 bucks brand new straight from fox. Amazing how cheap you can find things if you just look. Perhaps less complaining about how much it is and more action to finding it at how much you can find it is the answer. Look around if you don't like the price.